The demilitarization of aged explosives and propellants from obsolete munitions is a major concern due to potential contamination of the environment and the associated health and safety problems caused by toxic energetic materials during demilitarization operations. There is an urgent need to develop safe and environmentally acceptable techniques to destroy obsolete munitions and other energetic hazardous wastes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,936 refers to a vaporized sulfur process for complete destruction of organic chemicals. According to column 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,936, the process:
strips the carbon atoms out of such chemical carbonaceous compounds by subjecting the aforesaid carbonaceous chemical compound to vaporized sulfur, in a reaction chamber under an oxygen-free atmosphere at 500.degree. to 1500.degree. C., with the consequence that said vaporized sulfur combines directly with carbon atoms of the organic chemical to form solid particles of . . . inert polymer . . .
At temperatures well below the 500.degree. C. referred to in U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,936 munitions and other energetic materials will spontaneously detonate.
A process is urgently needed for safe decomposition of various high explosives at temperatures below the trigger temperatures at which they spontaneously detonate.